I recently sold my pair, after owning them for 3 months, after that I couldn't take it anymore. They are not worth the money even though they have great stereo imaging, and detail. They lack everything in bass. They just don't do the music justice. Especially when you listen to opera. Voices sound great, but rest of the orchestra just doesn't seem to be present. I now have Acoustic-Energy AE120

Coherent, transparent and overall ear-pleasing sound

Difficult amplifier load and lacking fundamental bass

These KEF speakers are capable of an extremely coherent, transparent and ear-pleasing sound. Qualities that can be very addictive. But as the saying goes: No Pain, No Gain, and with these speakers there is also plenty of Pain: Virtually non-existing deep bass, a slightly shut in character, a tendency to slow down rhythm and a difficult amplifier load.

The notion about amplifier load is very important. During my three year ownership of these speakers I have changed speaker cabling two times and amplification no less than FOUR times, before things have settled in to place. You can be quite sure that if it wasn’t for the great sound from several dealer demonstrations, I would have sold them a million times by now.

When an amplifier of anything less than 100 WATT (8 Ohm rating) is used, the bass gets detached, ported and slow, and midrange detail somehow seems to disappear. So I guess that smaller amplifiers might account for most of the more negative reviews in this forum. Bi-wiring is also essential, but I’ve never had any success in mixing different cables. Bi-amping can be a very cost effective way to improve transparency and overall control even further.

As previously mentioned the deep bass is virtually non-existent. However, if you listen to music in a medium sized room, this might be a small asset to you, as a medium sized room can give the speaker the bass lift it needs.

Conclusion: Only buy this speaker, if you plan to use it in a medium sized room with top-notch amplification and cabling. Under the right circumstances it can be addictive. – YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!

Imaging, Detail and very flat full range of sound.

None

These are one of my favorite speakers. I cant believe the imaging and detail these produce for the money. I would have to disagree with everyones negative review of bass responce. I was originally powering these with a 75 watt a channel receiver and they sounded pretty good, but did lack bass. I then upgraded to seperates and added a Adcom 5500 200x2 Amp. Holy Cow! these speakers opened up after that. The bass came alive. These things shake my whole house while using them for Theatre playback. Everytime I have someone over to watch a movie they ask me what kind of sub I have. I tell them none and they cant believe it.

Being a recording engineer I am subjected to all kinds of speakers. I mix down on Tannoy NFSM 8's which use the uniQ style speaker placement. I wish the KEF's where smaller so I could tote them around to mix on.

If you can audition a pair please do yourself a favor and listen to them with a lot of power behind them.

Great definition and separation

Bass very soft and unclear

I am very impressed with the separation that these speakers acheive, particularly when listening to solo vocals, acoustic guitar, or paino. I am certainly learning new things about every CD I listen too, including who didn't pay for proper production.

But I am surprised by how poor the bass output is. very mushy and soft and there is hardly any definition. The bass is poorer than my old bose speakers, which are otherwise very much inferior. The fact that speakers over a thousand dollars cheaper (at MSRP) can out perform the Kef's in any way is worrying for a potential purchaser.

That being said, I got my pair new, ex-demo, with warranty for $950 so for that kind of moolah I think I got a reasonable bargain.

However I would not spend the full MSRP on these. For close to grand you can do better.